berne



(No Model.)

A. W. BERNE. ELECTRIGAL ATTACHMENT. FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES. No. 443,814. Patented Dec. 30, 1890.

@QQd

WITNESSES I JVVEJVTOR z 4 Ji /22:1 71. Eff/26 omey NTTED STATES PATENT OFTTQE,

ARTHUR IV. BERNE, OF NETV ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE ELECTRICAL SAFETY RAILIVAY SIVITCH COMPANY,

LIMITED, OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRICAL ATTACHMENT FOR RAILWAY-SWITCHES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,814, dated December 30, 1890.

' Application filed July 5, 1890- Serial No. 357,788. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR WELLESLY BERNE, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Electrical Attachment for Railway-Switches; and I do doclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in electrical attachments for railway-switches, and its novelty will be fully understood from the following description and claims, when taken in connection with the annexed drawings; and the object of my invention is to ring a bell in the cab of a locomotive when a train is approaching a switch which has been misplaced, thereby warning the engineer and enabling him to stop the train and avoid danger. I attain this object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View. Fig. 2 is an end view showing rail with spring under same. Fig. 3 is a side View of locomotive, showing brush attached to cross-arm of pilot, bell in cab, and wire connections. Fig. at is 0 a broken front View of brush. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of brush.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, A is a switch mechanism adjusted to the rail in the ordinary manner. Resting under one of the rails of the main line, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I place a box, as designated by B, with a spring-top. Within said box I place two metal plates, as shown by C and D. These plates are so attached within box B as to occupy the position shown in Fig. 2, when the switch is closed or at safety and to form a contact when switch is open.

E is a wire attached to plate C, and which is carried on poles to battery F and thence to insulated bar G. Lying parallel with G is bar II, to which is connected a ground-wire M, and attached to plate D is a ground-wire L.

N designates a rail of the main track.

0 is a metal brush attached to the ends of the heel of the pilot of the locomotive.

P shows a bell in the cab of the locomotive.

R are wires placed on each side of the locomotive, and which connect brushes 0 and bell P through battery S.

The mode of operationis as follows: If the switch A is thrown to danger to main line, the rail N will be moved so as to connect with the side track, as shown in Fig. 1; but by referring to Fig. 2 C will show that in the moving of rail N the bolt depending from the same will bear down the spring-top of box B, thus forcing the contact-piece 0 against c0ntact-plate D, which will connect the contactpiece through wire L to the ground, which will make a partial circuit from ground through Wire L by line-wire E, through battery F, to insulated bar G, placed alongside of track at any desired distance from switch, directly opposite to which is the bar H, the which is also grounded by wire M. It will now be seen that in case of the switch being thrown to danger to main line a complete circuit will be formed, excepting the break between bars G and 1-1.

As shown in Fig. 3, a brush is attached to both sides of the pilot of the locomotive in such a manner that both brushes will come in contact with their respective bars G and H; but as the brushes are connected so that the current will pass from one through the battery S, thence through continuously-ringing bell P, thence to the opposite brush, and through II to the ground by wire M, it will be seen that in the event of the switch A being thrown to danger to main line a complete circuit will be formed, provided a locomotive arrives at the bars G and II while the switch is at danger, as follows: from ground-wire L, Fig. 1, through contact-piece D, through contact-piece C, through line-wire E, through battery F, through insulated bar G, through brush on locomotive to wire B, through bat- 5 tery S, continuously-ringing bell P, thence through wire R on locomotive to opposite brush O, thence through bar II, and through ground-wire M, which will cause the bell P to ring, notifying the engineer that switch A I00 is at danger, or it the switch A is to safety the circuit will be broken between the contact-pieces G and ID, as shown in Fig. 2, and the bell will not then ring, and by this means the engineer will know that switch A is at safety.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- In an electrical indicating mechanism for railway-switches, the combination, with a railway and the movable switch-rail thereof, having a lug depending from its base, of the spring-plate C, arranged beneath the rail and connected with an electric wire, the under- 

